Just as Yan Qi had effortlessly defeated Old Lady Viktor with barely a flicker of her power—
Maka and Hua Yiya had already reached the weakest point of the encirclement set up by the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, and were just about to escape from there.
“Hurry up, don’t drag your feet.”
Glancing back at Hua Yiya following behind him, Maka said this to urge her to pick up the pace.
“Don’t rush me—I’m already going as fast as I can, alright?”
Faced with Maka’s urging, Hua Yiya, who was already fleeing at top speed, replied to him with some irritation.
“I know you’re doing your best, but you need to think about Old Lady Viktor, who’s covering our retreat. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner she won’t have to keep those Free Life Society supernaturals occupied, and she can make her own escape as quickly as possible.”
Hearing the slight edge in Hua Yiya’s response, and realizing his own tone hadn’t been very polite just now, Maka quickly adjusted his attitude and said this to her.
Upon hearing that, Hua Yiya—who already understood this perfectly well in her heart—couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him, then said,
“I know that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be working this hard to keep up with you.”
“Good, as long as you understand.”
“Is it safe once we get through that intersection up ahead?”
Pointing at the intersection not far away, Hua Yiya asked Maka.
“Yeah, once we pass that intersection, we should be in the clear.”
With a tone full of certainty, Maka replied to Hua Yiya.
“Come to think of it, I don’t see any Bureau people around here, do you?”
Noticing that, unlike the areas they had passed through earlier, there weren’t even a few scattered Bureau members around, Hua Yiya said to Maka with some confusion.
“It’s normal that there’s no one from the Bureau here. After all, this is the weak point of their encirclement, and Old Lady Viktor drew so much of their attention for us.”
Not finding it at all unusual that nobody was at this weak spot in the encirclement, Maka answered Hua Yiya.
Hearing Maka’s words, although she thought what he said made sense, Hua Yiya still felt something was off somewhere. A nagging sense of unease lingered in her heart.
“But—”
Just as Hua Yiya was about to voice her unease to Maka, the sudden appearance of a single person made her stop mid-sentence, shut her mouth obediently, and stand frozen in place with a look of surprise and wariness.
“You two—planning to escape from here?”
Looking at Maka and Hua Yiya, who were just about to slip through this sparsely guarded weak point in the encirclement, the little Succubus Queen descended from the sky and landed on the ground, blocking their path while smiling at them and asking this question.
If it weren’t for her rather revealing attire and the long spear she was dragging behind her, that sweet smile alone would have been enough to win over most ordinary people and supernaturals in this world.
“You’re the one who came to support that Reaper earlier.”
Recognizing Zhao Meier’s identity, Maka instinctively blurted it out, while simultaneously rallying his supernatural power, ready to engage her in battle.
“Reaper? Hmm, that girl can indeed be called a Reaper, but not entirely—after all, she only wields a sliver of death’s power. She’s still a long way from being a true deity.”
Hearing Maka call out her identity, Zhao Meier showed no sign of surprise. Instead, she started making casual remarks about her other self, leaving Maka and Hua Yiya completely baffled, unable to figure out what she was doing.
“Enough about that useless stuff. You two, surrender now. Otherwise, I won’t go easy on you.”
Shifting the focus of the conversation from her other self to Maka and Hua Yiya, and not wanting to waste any more words with them, Zhao Meier urged them to give up quickly.
Hearing Zhao Meier’s words and looking at the long spear she held firmly in her hand, Maka knew he was no match for her alone. He turned his head to look at Hua Yiya beside him.
Feeling Maka’s gaze on her and understanding what he was asking for, Hua Yiya—though she dearly wished she could just surrender to Zhao Meier outright—thought about all the help she had received from Old Lady Viktor, Maka, and the other members of the Undead Association. With a sigh, she nodded to Maka.
Seeing that, Maka knew she had agreed to fight alongside him, and a look of joy immediately appeared on his face.
But then, remembering that this was no time to be happy, he quickly schooled his expression, activated his supernatural power, and launched an attack at Zhao Meier.
“Stubborn to the very end.”
Watching the paper airplane Maka threw at her, Zhao Meier—who had already learned about his supernatural abilities through Hu Yao’er at the Night Song Bar—muttered this to herself. She then flicked a small pebble from the ground with her spear, striking the paper airplane with pinpoint accuracy and detonating it.
Having smoothly dealt with Maka’s opening move, Zhao Meier naturally wasn’t about to just stand still. She immediately raised her Succubus Spear and blurred into motion, launching an attack on Maka.
“Watch out!”
Hua Yiya, who hadn’t participated in Maka’s first wave of attack, shouted at him the moment she saw Zhao Meier turn into a streak of motion.
Hearing that, Maka sensed the impending danger and immediately used his power to scatter a large number of white paper sheets around him, forming a dense defensive layer.
“Thinking these pieces of paper can block my attack—how naive.”
Looking at the defensive barrier Maka had built around himself with all that paper, Zhao Meier didn’t think for a second it could withstand her assault. She scoffed inwardly, then effortlessly pierced through the barrier with her Succubus Spear. With a gentle twist, the entire defense shattered, exposing Maka standing right in the middle.
Seeing Maka clearly in her sights, Zhao Meier instinctively moved to finish him off cleanly with her spear.
But just then, dozens of vines suddenly burst through the ground, wrapping around Zhao Meier’s slender ankles and slowing her attack.
